Three Things you Absolutely Must Know about Industry 4.0

5/26/2015

Industry 4.0 is a buzzword coined alongside the widespread changes taking hold in the Industrial sector. Here are three things you should know about Industry 4.0.

What it is

A quick historyquestion: which industrial revolution is it now? As digitization takes hold we are on the precipice of the fourth industrial revolution. But, Industry 4.0 is neither a new technology, nor is it a new business model. It is an extra step towards digitization and a new approach to achieve results simply not possible a decade ago. .

Industry 4.0 involves three key parts. The first is the Internet of Things and cyber-physical systems. Secondly, it involves advancements in big data and powerfulanalytics and thirdly, the communications infrastructure. This amalgamation of technology, industry digitalization and the current Internet of Things (IoT) has created Industry 4.0.

Industry 4.0 enabled by the Internet of Things
Industry 4.0 is another area where the Industrial Internet of things looks to play a huge role thanks to interconnected, intelligent machines that communicate with users. At the core of Industry 4.0 are highly intelligent interconnected systems now seamlessly supporting activities along the entire value chain and creating a fully digital landscape.

Five years ago GE decided to embrace IoT. According to Bill Ruh, VP of GE software, "GE hired 1,200 specialists and has invested $1bn since 2011 to reach where they are today. GE currently has 10,000 developers who help develop digital solutions and while that is a small number, compared to the overall headcount of more than 300,000 people globally. "ruh further explains that using sensors to improve efficiency on wind turbines for example improved efficiency by 5%, which, as small figure as it might sound to consumers has actually a huge impact in energy generation.

It's worth trillions

In January 2015 Accenture released a report which concluded that Industry 4.0 could add $14.2 trillion to the world economy by 2030 and the UK alone could benefit by up to half a trillion dollars. According to a recent Cisco study The Internet of Things is a $19 Trillion Opportunity over the next decade. These findings allow leaders in both the private and public sectors to begin planning how they can benefit from the Industrial Internet of Things and Industry 4.0. Today, according to the study “Manufacturing the Future: The Next Era of Global Growth and Innovation,” published by the McKinsey Global Institute, industrial production generates 16 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP), and employs about 45 million skilled workers in the industrial countries.

Siemens, the company that first embraced Industry 4.0 and now operates a Smart Factory in Germany, quoted IMS Research figures that showed the global market for industrial automation will post a turnover of $200 billion (around £134 billion, or AU$256 billion) by 2015. A further analysis by Frost & Sullivan revealed that the market for industrial networks and communications technologies like Ethernet and wireless connections will increase from €854 million revenue in 2010 to €1.6 billion in 2015.

The thirst for higher productivity and cost reductions from using real-time data has been given a shiny new name: Industry 4.0 which means reduced costs and improved efficiencies, greater speed and scale, smarter products and services.